Chelsea FC – Latest Transfer Rumours and Analysis

Till now Chelsea have had an excellent season, and that is majorly because of successfully summer signings. To make things even better and to make the team more deadlier in England and amongst other European counterparts, latest speculations are Jose Mourinho is targeting some of the best and promising players across Europe to add to his squad in the January transfer window.

If rumours are to be believed, Juan Cuadrado from the Italian club Fiorentina, Giannelli Imbula from Olympique de Marseille and Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona are linked with the Blues. Let us know these players and analyse the impact they may have on Chelsea if we end up signing them.

Juan Cuadrado:

According to many varied sources in Italy, Juan Cuadrado, the 26 years old Columbian winger seems to be unsettled in his current club Fiorentina. Cuadrado is a versatile player who plays on both left and right flank and also as a central attacking midfielder. He also plays as right wing back when Fiorentina opts for 5-3-2 formation. He is an amazing dribbler who makes average 5 dribbles per game with a success rate of 63%. He is also strong at creating chances via both long balls and short passes. With a height of just 5 feet 7 inches he often loses aerial duels and also lacks defensive contributions while he is playing in forward positions. He will have to work on his backtracking and defensive skills while working under Mourinho.

Overall Cuadrado would be a world class addition to the Blues as he has most of the qualities Jose expects in his forwards. With his excellent dribbling skills and pace he may have a beautiful chemistry with Eden Hazard and Oscar, and he will gel up with the squad within no time. He has the ability to add directness in the game and varied dynamism to the squad and the gameplay.

He has also been approached by Barcelona and Manchester United. United are facing a void on the right side in their lineup, and Cuadrado would prove an essential addition for them, whereas, Chelsea’s right flank is already occupied by Willian and André Schürrle. Cuadrado is a player who would prefer regular first team action instead of warming benches and it’s very unlikely that Juan will be a regular starter for the Blues. Hence, there are very slight chances that Cuadrado will agree terms with Chelsea.

Giannelli Imbula:

The 22 years old French international is a central midfielder and central defensive midfielder currently playing for the Ligue 1 side Marseille. He is in the sight of many European giants, including Chelsea. The Belgium-born has all the qualities which a world class central midfielder should possess. Most attractive quality in him is his killer shots from outside the box. He has scored two goals this season in 10 French league appearances, and both were outside the box volleys. His shot accuracy till now is 53% which is very good for a central midfielder. He has a very unique quality which is unseen in central midfielders, and that is dribbling, he makes 3.9 dribbles per game with an amazing success rate of 89%. Defensively he is very sound and often tackles the opposition to get the ball pass it ahead.

Taking all his qualities into the account, we can conclude that Giannelli is an excellent midfield maestro and also has a lot of room for development because of his young age. He will be an excellent addition to the blues squad and will have a great duo with Cesc Fabregas and Oscar.

Chances of him agreeing terms with Chelsea are quite good as Chelsea needs a young central midfielder, whereas Imbula needs a team where he can get glory and fame. Other midfielders with same qualities are also linked with Chelsea, and now it is up to Mourinho that player he wants in his squad. His market value is €6-7 million which is very friendly in FFP books.

Gerard Pique:

Gerard Pique is a well-established center back, currently playing for the Catalan giants Barcelona. The 27 years old defender is rumored to be unsettled in his club after the arrival of the manager Louis Enrique. Pique is a textbook front foot defender who steps forward and tackles the opposition instead of blocking the shots, intercepting the passes and clearing the balls. He is a defender who likes to contribute in the attack, which delivers average 1.5 long balls per game with an impressive passing length of 19 meters.

John Terry’s one-year contract extension and his career reaching its twilight will lead to some more defensive additions in the Blues’ dugout. Jose’s main aim is to find a partner for Gary Cahill and Pique seems to be a perfect piece in the jigsaw as Cahill is a back foot defender who prefers to stay at the back, intercept passes and block shots. They will have a beautiful partnership as Gerard’s addition will add more stability and experience in the Chelsea squad.

Chances to get Pique’s signature on Chelsea contract are very high. The Spaniard wants a club that can assure him a starting spot and Chelsea can surely deliver him that. His current market value is around €30-35 which is totally worth it for the player and economical for the blues.

However, it is difficult to read Jose’s mind and understand his strategies. Let us hope, we sign up some world class players and gloriously wind up this season. KTBFFH!!